The police were checking the place. Outside, Mary, Mr. Olson's faithful secretary, was a mass of nerves. Inspector Will was reviewing the facts:
1. Mr. Olson has been murdered. The murderer buried a stiletto through the back of the chair and right through his heart.
2. All the place was a mess, but nothing seems to be lost. Some sheets on his desk had coffee stains, but Mr. Olson was not a coffee drinker. There was no coffee container of any kind in the office. There were a couple of gloves in the floor.
3. Mary had in her visit book just three announcements: Hari Colton (2:35), Louis Williams (3:10) and Joseph Markis (3:45). Mary says that Joseph was the only one to serve himself a cup of coffee in a paper cup.
4. The cup of coffee was found in Mary's wastebasket. She claims that Joseph entered Mr. Olson's office with the cup in his hands, and then he left it in her desk, so she took it and threw it away.
5. The stiletto had no fingerprints at all, but the paper cup was all covered with one type of fingerprint: Joseph's (they had a mobile fingerprint lab).
6. Mr. Olson's wristwatch was broken, probably due to the fight, and it showed the time at 3:50.

Inspector Will then talked to Mary, to tell her she was under arrest.
Why did he suspect her?

Hint

Answer

1. The watch could not have been broken during a fight. It was clear that there was not a fight because Mr. Olson was stabbed in the back through his chair. So, the time was a setup.
2. The mess and the coffee was a setup, because there was no fight and it would be a little difficult for Joseph to enter and put on some gloves to fight with a cup of coffee in his hands
3. The last proof is that the cup of coffee only had one type of fingerprints. If Mary touched the cup (which she says she did), there should be some fingerprints of hers on it, unless she was wearing some gloves.Hide

Comments

It was very logicall i like teasers that aren't lenghty with answers you wouldnt guess in a million years. you could find the answers by simply following the clues which where perfect and fit the solution. but this is one you normally wouldnt get even with the clues. i really like this one and hope you continue t right these type of teasers . ; ^ ]

Murder mysteries are so amusing~ I actually figured that there wasn't a fight, since it would be quite unlikely to be caught unaware in a chair with the murderer behind you during a struggle~ It was neat though! : D

It would have been COMPLETELY good if you had mentioned that the gloves didn't have Mary's fingerprints on them. If she had worn them, there wouldn't have been fingerprints on the coffee cup. Other wise AWESOME teaser!

I got it because Mary was the only woman and he was killed with a stilleto, which gave it away for me right there. other than that good teaser. Maybe you could try and add anither woman and then explain it.